Some Uber Drivers To Stage ’25-Hour’ Strike In Los Angeles On Monday

Demanding a restoration of fees paid by Uber and a $28 minimum wage, an organization of Uber drivers in L.A. has announced a ’25-hour’ strike on Monday.

LOS ANGELES, CA—Travelers looking to get a ride around Los Angeles on Monday, may have to rethink which rideshare company they use, as a group of Uber drivers have called for a 25-hour strike.

A group calling itself Rideshare Drivers United and claiming 2,800 members has called for the strike to demand that redeshare giant Uber “reverse their announcement of a 25 percent wage cut and demands that all rideshare platforms guarantee drivers a $28 per hourly minimum rate.”

“Drivers will picket between 11 am and 3 pm, with colorful signs near Uber’s Greenlight Hub in Redondo Beach, CA,” the group announced on its website. “A rally will be held at noon, where drivers will speak about the impact of poverty wages in the rideshare industry.”

“The strike will be the largest coordinated action among rideshare drivers in the United States,” the group claims.

The company made a change to its drivers’ compensation rates, announcing it on March 11, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

“In September 2018, we increased the per-minute rate and minimum fares in hopes of making it more worthwhile to drive with Uber in L.A.,” the company said. “Unfortunately, these changes did not have the intended impact.”

As a result, Uber said it was increasing the per-minute rate drivers earn but reducing the per-mile rate and minimum fare. The per-minute rate jumped from 15 cents to 21 cents. But the minimum fare dropped from $3.75 to $2.62 and the more crucial per-mile rate dropped from 80 cents to 60 cents.

According to research done last year by UCLA’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, more than half of Uber and Lyft drivers in Los Angeles drive full time.

“Many also struggle to pay for expenses such as gas, insurance and vehicle maintenance costs, and around a third either purchased or leased their car specifically to drive for the companies and must now continue driving to pay off those loans,” reported the Los Angeles Times.

As Rideshare Drivers United itself estimates that there are “at least 100,000 rideshare drivers, and at least 30,000 of us doing the work fulltime,” it is doubtful that the 25-hour strike will have much impact on travelers.

It is also quite possible the strike will have no impact at all, since the strike is only being called against Uber and not Lyft.

"I want to urge devotion to the fundamentals of human liberty – the principles of voluntarism. No lasting gain has ever come from compulsion. If we seek to force, we but tear apart that which, united, is invincible. . . . I want to say to you, men and women of the American labor movement, do not reject the cornerstone upon which labor’s structure has been built – but base your all upon voluntary principles…” -- Samuel Gompers, Founder, American Federation of Labor
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